Serendipity
by imthequeenbee
Summary: When Clary goes on a cruise to relax and forget about the events in her life, she doesn't expect to spontaneously fall in love with a certain golden boy. But when his true purpose for being on the cruise emerges - and when she is suddenly thrown into a world of danger and politics, the unlikely pair realizes that their lives may intertwine.
1. Chapter 1

**This idea kind of floated around my head for a few days before it materialized. Hope you like it!**

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><p>The flashing disco lights and loud music threaten to give Clary Fray a headache but she walks into the room.<p>

"You sure you don't just want to spend the night eating in the buffet?" Simon jokes next to her. His face is pale though, and Clary can tell that he really doesn't want to be here.

"Mom wanted me to have fun, so here I am," she responds before catching herself from falling as a girl shoves past her.

"Sorry," the raven-haired girl apologizes quickly as she runs outside. "I think I'm going to throw up."

Simon shakes his head at the girl as she runs off. "She looks incredibly drunk."

"And incredibly gorgeous," Clary shoots back. "Simon, you've never had a girlfriend. Here's your chance: a room full of pretty girls."

"I don't need you as my wingman… or wingwoman, Fray," he rebukes playfully. They're suddenly stopped by a tall Asian man.

"Hi, I'm Magnus, the head of the kids club," he introduces, shaking their hands. Seeing Clary's nose wrinkle at the word "kid", he quickly corrects himself. "I mean, 'teenagers' club'. You're welcome to Club Pandemonium if you're within the age range 15-17, otherwise… get out. By the looks of it, you're 12," he says, as he gives Clary the once-over, "so you can go to the kiddie group on the other side of the boat."

"Thanks," she says, giving him a fake smile, "but I'm almost 18." She takes out her driver's license and Simon mirrors her movements.

"I was kidding," Magnus says with a smile. "I'm 22. Don't worry, I'm not going to treat you all like complete idiots… even if some of you are. The only rules are not to do anything crazy that will cause the police to lock me up in jail. That means alcohol and cigarettes are okay if I don't see them."

He points to the center of the club, where a horde of people are dancing. "Feel free to join them. I'm out of here at midnight but you guys can stay as long as you don't break anything."

"It's not too late to back out," Simon murmurs as Magnus leaves to greet more newcomers.

Clary rolls her eyes and drags him onto the dance floor.

Five minutes later, the two of them are collapsed on a sofa.

"Jesus Christ," Simon moans, panting.

"I forgot we couldn't dance," Clary admits evenly.

She glances around the room and watches the dancing bodies lit up by the disco ball. A golden glint catches her eye and she sees a golden-haired boy standing in the corner staring at her.

When she blinks, he's gone.

"That's weird," she muses quietly, turning to Simon, only to see the girl from earlier—the one who ran outside to throw up—sitting next to them.

"What's weird?" the girl asks curiously, but Clary just shakes her head. "Anyways, I'm Aline. I'm really sorry about almost knocking you over earlier."

"It's totally alright," Clary replies as she throws back another glance at the spot where the golden boy was standing. "I'm Clary."

Simon introduces himself and they discover that Aline is a 16-year-old from Kansas.

"So what brings you on the cruise?" Aline asks curiously. "I'm only on this fifteen day cruise to Hawaii because it's a family vacation, otherwise I never would have been able to afford it."

"Clary's mom decided she needed a break from things, so she paid for us to go on the cruise to just chill out," Simon answers and continues his conversation with Aline. He offers to get Aline a drink and she nestles into him as she laughs at a joke he makes.

Clary hides a smile, amused by Simon's flirty gestures. When she turns, she catches sight of the golden boy again.

The music suddenly stops and the dimmed lights flash on brightly. "Hey everyone, it's Magnus," the supervisor announces with a megaphone. Welcome to the Institute Cruise. I'm delighted—this is scripted, by the way—to be hanging out with you guys for the rest of the cruise. We left Long Beach, California, about two hours ago, and we will be at sea for the next four days, so we'll be well acquainted by the time we hit Hawaii. Sorry to stop the party, but we're going to be doing a few icebreakers. Just go with the flow, kiddos, because I'm getting paid to force you guys to introduce yourselves."

Magnus is greeted with a round of laughter. He arranges the group to stand in a circle and introduce themselves with name, age, and location.

To Clary's surprise, the golden boy is in the circle.

"Magnus Bane, 22, California," he demonstrates, and someone shouts sassily, "Is this just speed dating?"

"I'm just trying to help you get the girls, because you obviously need a lot of help,"

The crowd squeals. The boy next to Magnus continues the trend.

"Meliorn Fae, 17, Nevada."

"Helen Blackthorn, 15, Colorado."

Clary almost dozes off but she snaps to attention when it's golden boy's turn.

"Jace Wayland, 17, Maine." The boy flashes everyone a grin before his eyes fall on Clary's.

She turns away and blushes furiously.

"Aline Penhallow, 16, Kansas."

"Simon Lewis, 17, New York."

"Clary Fray, 17, New York."

"Are you two a thing?" Magnus teases, but Simon and Clary only blush.

"No!" they say simultaneously, earning a wink from Magnus.

"Really, we're just best friends," Clary corrects, and Magnus smirks but turns his attention to the next girl who begins to introduce herself.

Aline nudges Clary and Clary is about to snap that no, she and Simon are _not_ secretly in a relationship, but Aline directs her attention to the golden boy.

"He has totally been staring at you. Like, the whole night."

Clary's heart races, not because she's already fallen in love with him, but because… well, the idea that such a hot guy has been taking note of her makes her heart flutter. "Really?"

Aline snorts. "Don't pretend like you haven't noticed."

"I thought I imagined it," Clary admits, before glancing back at the circle and finding a pair of golden eyes trained back at her.

"See?" Aline whispers. "He's hot too. Maybe you guys can have like, a cruise fling."

"Yeah…no," Clary responds, but she can't deny that she's undoubtedly attracted to the mysterious golden boy—Jace.

"Alright," Magnus says again, getting everyone's attention. "Let's move on and play musical chairs!"

"How old do you think we are?" a guy—Meliorn Fae—retorts.

Magnus ignores him. "You can leave if you want."

"Gladly." Meliorn is halfway through the door before Magnus announces, "It's musical chairs with a twist. I've put a beer bottle on every chair and the person who can't get a chair has to down the entire bottle… and then sit in the mush pot."

Magically, Meliorn appears in the crowd again. "Is this even legal?" Simon questions. Half the group, with the same misgivings as Simon, leaves and only 15 or so people actually play the game.

"You sure you wanna stay?" Simon asks, touching Clary's arm.

"Why not?" she responds rebelliously. He sighs, glaring at her like she's lost her mind, but acquiesces. After the first round of alcoholic musical chairs, Meliorn is determined to be the loser, though Clary suspects he lost on purpose. He downs the beer quickly, earning a hesitant round of applause, and he gives everyone a toothed smile.

Aline loses next, and to Clary's surprise, the petite girl chugs the alcohol without a blink. "My grandfather was in the mafia," she confides with a wink. "I've learned to hold my liquor."

"I'm not sure if I should be amazed or worried," Clary responds, smiling.

A boy named Robert loses next and throws up after a sip of the beer. Magnus consoles him and Meliorn finishes the rest of the bottle for him.

"I don't blame him. Beer is nasty. I better be the winner," Simon mutters.

"I never knew you were so ambitious," Clary teases but at the end of Iggy Azalea's "Black Widow", she finds herself without a chair. Magnus hands her a bottle and she grimaces as she pops it open. Simon casts her a worried glance but she ignores him. "I wonder what it's like being drunk," she jokes as she tips the bottle towards her mouth.

"I'll take that for you," an unfamiliar voice says, and Clary looks up to see that it's golden boy.

Aline whistles in amazement and Clary's blush only depends as the boy—Jace—walks toward her and gently takes the bottle from her grip and chugs it.

"Alriiiiighty then," Magnus says, raising an eyebrow. "Heroic. Clary, that doesn't save you from the mush pot though." She nods and takes a seat on the carpet next to Aline.

"Not gonna lie, but that was sweet," the girl says, prodding Clary in the shoulder.

Next round, Jace loses and chugs down his second bottle of beer.

"I have a feeling he lost on purpose," Aline winks, but Clary ignores her.

Jace takes a seat next to Clary as the game continues.

"Hey," he says, his voice slightly raspy.

"H-hi," she stutters back, slightly taken by surprise.

"Want to ditch these alcoholics and get some ice cream from the buffet?"

"That sounds great actually."

Aline gives Clary a wink as the red-head and the golden boy leave Club Pandemonium.

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><p>"Not feeling drunk yet?"<p>

Jace chuckles as they wait for the elevator. "It takes a lot more than that to knock me out."

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not."

They stand in contented silence before stepping into the glass elevator.

"The ship is so great," Clary remarks quietly, sighing with contentment.

"First cruise?"

"Yup."

The elevator comes to a halt, and Clary is about to walk about, but Jace smiles chivalrously. "Allow me." He steps outside, puts a foot in the elevator doors, and gestures for Clary to follow.

"And the feminists claim that chivalry is dead," Clary remarks, blushing again.

When she turns, she sees a huge, burly man standing in front of her.

"Clary Fray? I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

"Do I know you?"

The man shifts so that Clary can see the gun in her hand and she gulps. Before she can even process what's happening, Jace has leaped out in front of her.

"This is really no time to be playing hero," she hisses, but he ignores her and attacks the man. Instigating the fight by punching the stranger in the gut, he gestures for Clary to move out of the way. The man lands a solid kick to Jace's shin but he simply dodges and uses momentum to roll forward and emerge behind the man. A swift elbow to the man's temple knocks the stranger out and Jace picks up the gun.

"Alright Clary, let's get out of here," he says breathlessly before dragging her back inside the elevator.

Before Clary has the chance to question the golden boy—or karate kid, whatever he was—her phone rings.

"Clary?"

"Do you have any idea how much cellular service costs on the ship? It's like. A whole week's worth of wages at Luke's bookstore."

Jace raises an eyebrow at her and makes a motion as if to say, _we just got attacked by a complete stranger and all you can think about it cell service costs?_

"Honey, I know, but there's some stuff I have to tell you before you get in trouble."

"A bit too late for that."

"What? Clary, what happened?"

"This weird wacko guy came out of nowhere and wanted to, like, kidnap me or something."

"Thank god you're okay. Clary, there may be some… bad people on that ship who may harm you. Thankfully I had the foresight to hire a bodyguard to protect you. You need to find him as soon as possible."

She turned back at Jace and eyed him up and down, taking in his muscular build and the gun in his right hand.

"I might have already found him."

"His name is Jace Wayland and he's about 5 foot 11 with golden hair and eyes," her mother was saying. "He'll keep you safe until the end of the cruise."

"Thanks mom," Clary responded, turning off her iPhone and glaring at the golden boy. "You couldn't tell me you were… my bodyguard… sooner?"

"That would have taken the mystery out of it," he responded cheekily. "At least you're safe."

"Is that why you've been looking at me the whole night? And why you offered to take my drink?"

"I can't imagine how Mrs. Fairchild would have reacted if she found out that I let you get drunk under my watch. Anyways, let's go to Guest Services. I think it's safer if you move to a cabin closer to mine."

As she followed him, Clary couldn't figure out why she was so upset that he had been paying attention to her only because he was obligated to keep her safe.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked the first chapter! Let me know your thoughts and whether or not you think I should continue. I'm experimenting with writing in present-tense so this is new for me. Happy holidays!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't think you understand," Jace says, giving up his flirty facade. He glares at the female receptionist at Guest Services on floor five of the cruise ship. "I need the cabin change to happen. Right now."

The poor girl, earlier so charmed by Jace's good looks, now appears hesitant. "I'm really sorry, Mr. Wayland, but I don't have the authority to change cabins."

"Then find me someone with the authority."

The girl rushes to the backroom and Clary glares pointedly at Jace. "You could be nicer, you know."

"I could," he agrees, "but I choose not to."

Clary throws him a confused look but he doesn't explain or attempt to humanize himself.

A well-dressed middle-aged man strolls from the backroom to the desk, straightening his suit as he introduces himself. "I'm Gerald, the head of customer services. Felicity told me that you wanted to change rooms?"

Jace's eyes quickly sweep Gerald up and down and he suddenly changes tactics. "Hi Gerald, I'm on the cruise with my girlfriend for our one year anniversary, and it seems that we didn't manage to book rooms next to each other. Could you help me with that? I'm sure you understand, right?"

Gerald glances at Clary and meets Jace's gaze with mirth in his eyes. He taps a few keys on his keyboard and reports, "By coincidence, there's no one in the cabin next to yours, Mr. Wayland. It seems I'll be able to arrange for Ms. Fray to move into the cabin. I'll go pick up the consent forms." Before he leaves for the back room, he gives Jace and Clary a wink.

"I'm not your girlfriend," Clary hisses, cheeks blushing pink.

"Don't worry, I'm not too excited about it either," he responds, earning a glare. "Chill, princess, I'm just doing my job."

Two minutes later, "Clarissa Fray" is signed in elaborate cursive at the bottom of a form, right next to a blocky, all-capitalized, "Jace Wayland". "The rooms are actually linked," Gerald informs, his toothy grin glittering under the LED lights. "There is a doorway between them made up of two doors. Each door is only accessible by one side so if you happen to need any privacy—though I highly doubt you will, since you obviously have such good chemistry—you can just shut the door on your side."

"Thanks," Clary says with a forced smile. "My… boyfriend… and I really appreciate it." She jabs an elbow into Jace's ribs and grabs her new room key.

"I think I actually hate you," she declares under her breath as the two head toward the elevator.

"That sucks," he responds cheekily, "since we're going to be awfully close for the rest of the cruise."

"You still haven't told me why I need a bodyguard in the first place."

"It's not my place to tell you."

"Jace, I need a good reason to stick with you for the rest of the cruise instead of having any fun."

He doesn't even flinch at her insult and holds the elevator door open for her. She huffs in frustration and says, "Fine. I'm going back to my old room."

She swivels to storm out of the elevator, but his fingers grasp her arm at the elbow. "I really can't lose my job," he says stonily.

She doesn't know why she doesn't just wrench herself out of his grip and return to her room, but something in his eyes keeps her still.

"Fine," she says eventually. "But I can't make any promises that I'm going to cooperate until I find out why I need a freaking bodyguard."

Jace is silent for the rest of the walk to his room on Deck 7. He slides her key card into the lock next door several times, to no avail. "Alright, seems like there's an issue with your new key card. The door won't open."

She looks at him questioningly and tries to open the door herself, but it won't budge. Jace takes a look at his watch and sighs. "It's too late. Gerald will be gone by now. Guess you're rooming with me tonight."

"You can't be serious."

"It's not safe in your old room."

She's about to argue when the memory of her attacker flashes back into her mind and she docilely agrees. "Good. Stay here for a minute," he commands, before walking into the room. He comes out a few minutes later. "All clear."

Clary scoffs and walks into the room. "Is this what the President has to put up with every day?"

"It's necessary," he replies.

She purses her lips. "What would my mother think if I were rooming with a guy I just met?"

Jace rolls his eyes. "I'm your bodyguard. It's different. Besides, you're not even my type."

Her cheeks flush but she holds his gaze. "What makes you think that you're _my_ type?"

"I never insinuated that," he responds levelly, and she realizes that she was over-thinking the entire situation.

She settles down in a chair while Jace leaves to make a call to report back to Jocelyn. "I'll be just outside, so don't worry," he says before he closes the door.

Clary doesn't know why she's not more frazzled—after all, she just survived an attempted kidnapping—but something about Jace puts her at ease. "And it's not just because he's drop dead gorgeous," she muses.

She spots a bottle of water by her nightstand and uncaps it. She's mid-sip when a voice murmurs, "Who's drop dead gorgeous?"

Clary chokes and accidentally spills the rest of the water down her shirt. "When did you come back inside?"

"Right when you said something about being gorgeous," Jace says, grabbing the now-empty water bottle from her hands as she stands up and clutches at her shirt.

She glances up and his smirk reveals that he knows exactly who she was thinking about. "I meant Gerald," she snaps.

"Isn't he a little too old for you?" he remarks, lips lifting into another smirk.

"Doesn't mean he's not gorgeous," she retorts, turning away from him as she blushes fuchsia.

"Er…" Jace makes a weird noise with his throat. "You should probably go… shower or something."

"If you think for one _minute_ I will be showering while you are here, you have evidently thought _very, very wrong_," she responds, her anger more from embarrassment and mortification than actual rage.

"No, I mean…"

Clary turns and takes note of Jace's embarrassed expression. She looks down and realizes that her very white t-shirt has turned very see-through.

"Oh. Right. That's a good idea." Within seconds, she has jumped into Jace's shower. As she pulls the wet shirt over her head, she can't believe how much she's made a fool of herself.

"I've probably blushed a thousand times since I met him," she mutters and takes off her jeans.

The warm water is almost therapeutic and Clary immediately feels at easy. By the time she finishes shampooing and washing her body, she's ready for a nap. She wraps herself with the towel and steps out of the shower. Her jeans are still dry and she puts them on quickly.

Except there was one problem.

"Um, Jace?" she calls quietly.

There is a rustle and she hears Jace's voice just outside the door. "What's up?"

"I, uh, don't have a dry shirt."

She hears muffled curse words. "Um, where's your room? I can go get your clothes for you."

"Deck 8, uh, room 103? Or 104… or maybe 102. I really can't remember," she replies, flustered.

"Princess, I can't knock on all three doors to try to find your clothes. Let me just…" There's more rustling. "I have a t-shirt."

"Better than nothing."

He slips a navy-blue t-shirt under the door and she grabs it gratefully. It smells like aftershave but Clary decides that she likes the smell. When she throws it over her head, it goes down to her knees, and she curses her dwarfish height.

"It's really big on me," she says as she walks out of the bathroom, "but it works, so thank you."

Hearing no response from Jace, she looks up and sees that he is staring at her. "What?"

"N-nothing," he says quickly, turning away. "You might want to call your mom now and question her."

Clary gets the distinct feeling that Jace is throwing her mother under the bus to avoid the conversation but she doesn't complain. "Good idea."

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><p>"You what?" Clary utters, completely startled. She can almost see her mother's wince.<p>

"Okay, darling, I know I should have told you earlier, but I didn't find out myself until a few hours before you left for the cruise. I just scrambled to hire your bodyguard. Then I told Simon, and I was going to tell you, but I guess I was just busy."

"You told _Simon_ that my father left me a hundred million dollars but not me?"

"Clary, calm down."

"I'm calm. As calm as I can be after you tell me that my dad—who died a year ago—didn't actually die of natural causes and he left me an enormous sum of money. An enormous sum that you just found out about… today?"

"You're rambling now, dear. I know it's a lot to take in. That's why I didn't want to tell you earlier. I wanted you to enjoy your vacation but then I realized that there are probably people who want to get to you to get the money. When the lawyers finally found the will, there was a huge press release and there will be people who will kidnap you for ransom."

"Mom—"

"Clary, hold on, honey. There's a call I have to take."

With a click, her mom hangs up on her. Clary glances up to see Jace watching her. "This is the big secret that you couldn't tell me?"

He grimaces. "There was a reason I didn't want to be the one to tell you. Jocelyn warned me that you could be really emotional."

Before she gets a chance to retort, there's a knock on the door. Jace immediately springs up and pulls out a gun from underneath the bed. He peeks through the peep hole and relaxes. "It's that nerd you hung out with the whole night."

Clary leaps up and opens the door. "Simon!" She pulls her best friend into a hug.

He wraps his arms around her tightly before letting go. "Clary, you have no idea how worried I was when I won musical chairs and you were suddenly gone. I had to go all the way to Guest Services, but no one was there. It took me forever to find a stewardess, who told me that a red-head just switched rooms to deck 7!"

Clary took a look at his frantic demeanor and hugged him again. "I'm so sorry, Si. The bodyguard took me to his room to keep me safe and then—"

"Why are you wearing his t-shirt?" Simon suddenly interrupted, giving her the once-over.

Jace stepped up next to Clary and crossed his arms. "Jealousy is not an attractive trait on you," he remarks coolly. "Then again, I don't think there's anything that could make you attractive."

Clary shoots her new bodyguard a poisonous glance and turns back to Simon, but she suddenly doesn't feel like explaining. "I can't believe my mom told you everything and you didn't think that it was important to tell me."

Jace glances around and ushers the two teenagers into his room. "You should be more careful where you discuss these matters."

Clary takes a seat on Jace's bed and Simon is left standing. He takes another glance at Clary's new t-shirt and noticeably fumes.

There's a silence before Simon clears his throat. "I'm sorry."

Clary's green eyes dart back at him and her angry expression softens. "I didn't mean to worry you. This is just a lot to take in."

Suddenly, all is forgiven, and Jace is the outsider as he watches Simon join Clary on the bed. She leans on him and sighs. "Might as well enjoy the rest of our vacation."

"Let me, uh, grab some water from the buffet. Try not to get yourselves killed while I'm gone," Jace announces gruffly before vanishing from the cabin. He doesn't know why his stomach is in such a knot when he sees his charge with her best friend, but his throat is suddenly parched and he needs to get out of the room.

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><p><strong>Thanks for the kind words :) As of yet, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with the story, but your feedback is much appreciated. Chapter 3 isn't written yet, and I don't know if I want to finish the story (there's a new story idea in my mind) but your comments will help me a lot!<strong>


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